Hardware Review: 2010 Xenarc 700TSV TFT LCD Touch Screen Monitor

The Xenarc 700TSV adds a few wrinkles to a product well-known for its outstanding quality. The addition of auto-brightness control is welcomed; however the lack of DVI certainly raises an eyebrow in 2010. The quality of the visuals on-screen somewhat makes up for this glaring omission.

The 700TSV comes with an instruction manual, VESA mount, an attachable stylus pointer, and a single-loom wire which includes connectors for USB, VGA input, 2 composite inputs, and an audio cable which connects to the built-in speaker. Also included are a home power supply, car cigarette lighter power supply, full function remote, and the touch screen driver CD.

Description:

The 700TSV is Xenarc’s latest entry in the 7-inch touch screen market. The company has an outstanding reputation for building high-quality displays, and the 700TSV is no exception. It’s a heavy screen, which usually indicates it’s solidly built to withstand harsh car PC environments. The 700TSV’s exterior design is built with both form and function, featuring solid tactile front buttons and a rear cable connector that keeps both power wires and input wires out of the way for fabricators.

The 700TSV allows for a near full-set of input connections. There is a VGA connector, 2 audio/video composite connectors, and an audio connector, which allows installers to run pc audio directly to the built-in speaker in the Xenarc. The speaker is 3 inches, so do not expect full-range audio, however it would be nice to be able to route GPS guidance prompts separate from your music. There are a few wires missing from the feature set, most notably a DVI connection. The majority of car PCs and PCs in general are shying away from VGA, so DVI should be included in all monitors in 2010. Also missing is an auxiliary connector allowing the 700TSV to automatically switch to an aux input, but this is forgivable as the first composite cable set have the feature built-in. So without the addition of DVI, you may be asking yourself what separates the 700TSV with Xenarcs prior offerings. The first new item is the presents of a light-sensor on the bottom front of the Xenarc panel.

This light sensor provides built-in brightness control. In my testing I found this sensor to work well. It provides a nice subtle change in brightness without any on-screen indicators getting in the way. However, I do wish the sensor dimmed the screen more during night-time operation. The brightness only appears to drop around 10%, and as a result the screen is still too bright at night.The most notable improvement may very well go unnoticed, but the 700TSV has an absolute beautiful display when compared to both Lilliput and Xenarc units in the past. The instructions call it “AISS- Advanced Image Scaling and Sharpness”. What this means to the average user is the images displayed on the 700TSV, both still and moving, are extremely crisp. When comparing this unit to my old 2008 Lilliput 629 I found the Xenarc display far more vivid. Edges are less jagged and it’s harder to spot the actual pixels at work.

The Xenarc 700TSV adds a few wrinkles to a product well-known for its outstanding quality. The addition of auto-brightness control is welcomed; however the lack of DVI certainly raises an eyebrow in 2010. The quality of the visuals on-screen somewhat makes up for this glaring omission.